Cap Coast Telecoms former director Richard Ludwig has been charged with money laundering and breaching director duties allegedly with the help of pre-insolvency advisors Stephen O’Neill and John Narramore.
The case, which is being heard at the Brisbane Magistrates Court, follows an investigation from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) into the affairs of Cap Coast Telecoms and Ludwig.
Ludwig was one of the directors of five Queensland Leading Edge Telecoms stores, then part of Cap Coast Telecoms.
According to a report from The Morning Bulletin at the time, the stores were closed over a weekend with employees being told through a text message to not go to work on Monday.
Cap Coast Telecoms entered liquidation on 20 January 2015 appointing Mark Hutchins and Robert Kite of Cor Cordis as liquidators. Hutchins referred the case to ASIC.
In another report from The Morning Bulletin from February 2015, the paper revealed that an increase in franchise fees put stress on the directors.
According to ASIC, it is alleged that Ludwig sought advice from O’Neill and Narramore of pre-insolvency firm SME’s R Us, following a dispute he was having with a creditor of the company.
The pre-insolvency advisors would have allegedly facilitated Ludwig to illegally remove a total of $743,050 of company money between October 2014 and January 2015 to accounts in their control. It is alleged that the three men acted jointly to remove the money before the company was wound up in liquidation.
It is also alleged that part of the money was redirected to Ludwig and another part remained with the advisors.
Ludwig has been charged with ten counts of breaching his director duties. He alongside O’Neill and Narramore have been charged with one count each of dealing in the proceeds of crime worth $100,000 or more.
The case was heard on 1 March 2019 and all three men were bailed to return to the Brisbane Magistrates Court on 3 May 2019.
Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.